It has wallabies, you know

Lonely Planet's new New Zealand guidebook has attracted the usual media coverage and quotations, with New Zealanders as ever interested in how the rest of the world views their country, and in particular sensitive to any criticism, implied or direct.  This self-analysis has extended to the small South Canterbury town of Waimate.  The Timaru Herald observed that '...while Timaru has escaped the sharper edge of Lonely Planet's tongue, Waimate has been ignored completely'.

 

For the record, Waimate has its own discreet charms including its own wallaby colony, the subject of an annual hunt.  And the town's not short of amenities either; for instance, it will soon boast a brand new public toilet!

 

- Timaru Herald, 19 August 2008